New Approach To Spelling

Posted by Cindy on August 16, 2007

Mahayla pretty much learned to read without my help.  By 1st grade, she was reading chapter books.  So I didn’t feel the need to back up and teach phonics rules when she was intrisically figuring it all out.  We did use Spelling Workout for two and a half years which taught many spelling rules, but she hated the repitition of the same words day after day.  By Friday, test day, she would easily make 100%, but wasn’t always transferring the spelling rules into other words.

Fast forward to this year.  There are a few spelling mistakes that I have watched her make over and over again – even after talking about them.  So, I decided daily spelling instruction needed to be put back on the curriculum schedule.  I wanted to do something that really taught the rules this time.  Something that would help her to use the rule to spell any word – not just the 20 or 30 for a test.

I decided to use Spelling Works from Scholastic.  The lessons cover spelling rules using all kinds of words – there is no word list.  Each day, Mahayla completes a lesson where she has to use the rule in a variety of ways.  By Friday, test day, I give her 20 or 30 words that follow the rule.  She may or may not have seen the words through the week, but if she learned the rule she should still be able to make 100%.

I’m after an understanding of spelling rather than memorizing a set list.  I’ve already seen a big improvement in everyday spelling on the words that follow the rules we’ve covered so far.  That puts a big smile on my face and has given her more confidence in her writing!